The youths were among 20 from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala who were set to appear in federal immigration court Tuesday for initial deportation hearings. But they weren’t there — 18 of the children whose cases were set to be heard didn’t show up Tuesday for court.

The children are among about 100,000 juveniles who have entered the U.S. without a parent in the last two fiscal years, according to Homeland Security. None of the children set to appear on Tuesday had an attorney, a swelling reality that inspired Dallas Catholic Bishop Kevin Farrell on Monday to appeal to attorneys to step up to provide free services.

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In general, 46 percent of juveniles don’t show up for their immigration court hearings, according to Capitol Hill testimony recently from Juan Osuna, who directs the Justice Department’s immigration courts. The Executive Office of Immigration Review faces a backlog of 375,000 cases and was ordered a few weeks ago to make unaccompanied juveniles the top priority.

The youths were among 20 from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala who were set to appear in federal immigration court Tuesday for initial deportation hearings. But they weren’t there — 18 of the children whose cases were set to be heard didn’t show up Tuesday for court.

The children are among about 100,000 juveniles who have entered the U.S. without a parent in the last two fiscal years, according to Homeland Security. None of the children set to appear on Tuesday had an attorney, a swelling reality that inspired Dallas Catholic Bishop Kevin Farrell on Monday to appeal to attorneys to step up to provide free services.

....

In general, 46 percent of juveniles don’t show up for their immigration court hearings, according to Capitol Hill testimony recently from Juan Osuna, who directs the Justice Department’s immigration courts. The Executive Office of Immigration Review faces a backlog of 375,000 cases and was ordered a few weeks ago to make unaccompanied juveniles the top priority.